The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Purchased by Continuum Advisory LLC

Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 172.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,587 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,004 shares during the quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $598,390,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $277,989,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $264,207,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $123,829,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in Kroger by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,402,000 after acquiring an additional 1,981,259 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 5,541 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total value of $392,247.39. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $246,349.20. This trade represents a 61.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.44, for a total transaction of $2,083,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 127,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,870,057.28. This represents a 19.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 207,793 shares of company stock worth $14,938,358 over the last ninety days. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Trading Down 1.6%

KR opened at $72.21 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $74.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $69.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The business had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KR. Melius Research raised Kroger from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $66.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Kroger from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.47.

About Kroger

The Kroger Co operates as a food and drug retailer in the United States. The company operates combination food and drug stores, multi-department stores, marketplace stores, and price impact warehouses. Its combination food and drug stores offer natural food and organic sections, pharmacies, general merchandise, pet centers, fresh seafood, and organic produce; and multi-department stores provide apparel, home fashion and furnishings, outdoor living, electronics, automotive products, and toys.